Wamser strikes late as Manchester City fight back from 2-0 to draw at Bayern Munich

Manchester City produced a gutsy performance to fight back from two goals down and earn a draw away to Bayern Munich in their Women's Champions League opener. A torrid first half saw José Barcala's Bayern take the lead through Giulia Gwinn before a Kerstin Casparij own goal doubled their advantage, but goals from Beth Mead and Carlotta Wamser saw the visitors take home a hard-earned point from a 2-2 draw.

Bayern storm into a 2-0 lead

It was always going to be a challenging start for the English champions against a Bayern team who have historically thrived in the league phase of this competition. Barcala's side came into this encounter unbeaten in their last 15 group-stage matches and having made a run to the semi-finals last season that, according to Gwinn, had left them “even hungrier and eager for more.”

The German outfit have also kicked off the defence of their Frauen-Bundesliga title in stunning fashion, with five wins from five leaving them two points clear at the top of the table. Barcala had been able to make five changes to his starting XI, having completely rested Klara Bühl and Gwinn against Köln at the weekend, and they looked full of energy. Ballon d'Or nominee Bühl immediately stretched every sinew of City's fragile-looking defence with her pace and guile.

The hosts broke the deadlock with just 11 minutes on the clock. Linda Dallmann broke through central midfield to send Gwinn on her way down the right, and the full-back dispatched a cool finish past Ayaka Yamashita in the City goal. Things got worse for the visitors when an unwitting Casparij diverted a dangerous Pernille Harder cross into her own net to double the score, with Bayern in cruise control inside the first 28 minutes.

A lifeline before the break

Andrée Jeglertz's side arrived in Germany full of confidence after an equally impressive start to their domestic campaign, their 4-2 win over Liverpool a sign of their mettle. European football, however, presents a different test altogether, and they came into the competition with plenty of unknowns after a year out of the competition and with Vivianne Miedema and Rebecca Knaak absent through injury.

This City side are made of stern stuff, and Jeglertz's side were handed a lifeline just before the break, albeit in controversial fashion. As a blue smoke flare blazed on the pitch, the referee allowed play to continue as Casparij burst forward down the right. Her ball in eventually fell to a free Mead to tap home.

Shaw misses, Wamser delivers

The visitors' comeback continued in the second half as the game ebbed and flowed in a much more even affair. They should have had an equaliser when Aoba Fujino was felled in the box by Ena Mahmutovic, only for the goalkeeper to step up to save the subsequent spot kick from Khadija Shaw.

Jeglertz rang the changes with Mary Fowler replacing a struggling Shaw and Laura Blindkilde Brown coming into central midfield. Despite the hosts still looking potent going forward, City could sense the tide was shifting and found an equaliser with four minutes to play. Wamser, signed from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer, arrived on the edge of the box to rifle home a finish on her return to Germany after she met Brown's tee-up at the near post.

The substitute Edna Imade had two big chances to win it for the hosts late on, but the visitors held strong to head back home with a valuable point. Bayern created chances worth 2.03 expected goals from 15 shots, while City had opportunities worth a combined 2.31 xG from just eight attempts — room for improvement, but a decent showing in attack.

What it means

City have made a fantastic start to their WSL title defence, winning all three of their matches so far, but they endured a miserable opening half-hour of their European campaign. This was their first meeting against Bayern, or indeed any German team, in this competition. Bayern had won seven of their previous 11 Champions League matches against English teams, including both legs of last season's quarter-final against Manchester United.

Harder, who did not score here, is just one goal off her 50th Women's Champions League goal, aiming to become only the third player to reach that milestone after Ada Hegerberg (69) and Eugenie Le Sommer (50). With one of their most difficult games out of the way, City face Real Madrid next week in Manchester with a chance of making another statement on the European stage.